AJ Dybantsa is poised for NBA promise after a standout season for BYU.
CHICAGO – AJ Dybantsa entered the 2026 NBA Draft Lottery room at the McCormick Place Convention Center with nerves as he awaited the reveal of the ultimate order.
For the past four years, Dybantsa has lived under the spotlight as first, one of the best high school prospects in the country, and this past season at BYU, as one of the top freshmen in college basketball.
As the teams were revealed, Dybantsa sat in the front row next to his mom, Chelsea and watched as Deputy Commissioner Mark Tatum opened one envelope after another. The Washington Wizards won the NBA Draft Lottery for the second time in franchise history after a 17-65 season, securing the No.1 pick. Picking second will be the Utah Jazz and the Memphis Grizzlies will pick next at No. 3.
“Just standing here is kind of crazy and I’m just taking everything in, honestly,” Dybantsa told NBA.com. “I’m excited to find out where my home is going to be next season.”
Dybantsa didn’t grow up necessarily with huge aspirations of playing professional basketball. He first fell in love with the game when he was five years old after his father, Ace, brought home a Spider-man mini hoop and basketball.
Spider-man was his favorite Marvel character and AJ played on the hoop constantly. He joined some local teams growing up through elementary school and played for fun with his friends and classmates.
It wasn’t until COVID-19 hit and the world shut down that things started to change for the 13-year-old Dybantsa. The Dybantsa family was living in Brockton, Massachusetts at the time and his dad would drive the youngster one hour and 20 minutes every single day to Middletown, Rhode Island for workouts.
“Leading up to that I kind of just played for fun and when COVID hit and everyone was inside, that’s when things changed for me,” Dybantsa told NBA.com. “I just ended up loving the workouts and when we came back from COVID and was allowed back in the gym, I had a growth spurt and I kind of knew I was better than everyone and that triggered everything.”
‘The Change’, and the journey to follow
Ace saw the change start to happen day-in and day-out and has been by his son’s side every sense while guiding him, challenging him and pushing him to be the player he is today.
“During COVID, I saw it first-hand. His work ethic every single day was different,” Ace said. “We as parents are very proud and the ride up to this point has been crazy. It’s a lot of work, a lot of sacrifice and people don’t understand how much goes into this.”
Dybantsa hit the national scene early in his freshman year and got all the NBA scouts attention while playing up on Nike’s EYBL circuit during the AAU seasons.
He also won three gold medals for Team USA at the 2023 FIBA Americas U16 Championship, 2024 FIBA U17 World Cup and 2025 FIBA U19 Men’s World Cup where he was named the tournament MVP.
Dybantsa was the top recruit coming out of high school and chose BYU over North Carolina, Kansas State, Texas Tech and other top programs.
“My ultimate goal is the NBA and after they hired [coach] Kevin Young, they hired a strength coach from the Milwaukee Bucks, a dietitian from the Suns, analytics from the Suns,” Dybantsa said. “(Young) just started stacking prototypes around us and I wanted to learn in the best environment to prepare for the league and I think I got that from BYU.”
Young spent 10 years coaching in the NBA and was the associate head coach for the Suns from 2021-2024 before taking the head coaching job at BYU in April 2024.
During his first season, he led BYU to the Sweet 16 and got to work on the recruiting trail, landing the No. 1 recruit in the senior class in Dybantsa.
“It was the perfect storm for him and for us,” Young said. “Just the state of our program with me getting here and trying to start a foundation. AJ being able to benefit from my background in the league and not just me but my whole staff. He’s been very vocal about recognizing that aspect and wanting to learn as much as possible.”
Meeting amped-up expectations
BYU was plagued with injuries throughout the 2025-26 season and there were times Dybantsa was required step up. The first game that come to Young’s mind was the comeback game against Clemson at Madison Square Garden where Dybantsa had 22 second-half points and finished with a game-high 28 points and added 9 rebounds and 6 assists. BYU was down 21 points at halftime, making for the largest second-half comeback in school history. The second game was a home game against rivaled Utah in January where he had a season-high 43 points and put on a scoring clinic.
“While watching both those games I was like, ‘We’re watching greatness right before our own eyes,’” Young said. “Those two performances were next level. Just to be able to coach him as a young player and be able to have some sort of impact on his life and his game will be one of the greater joys of my career.”
Dybantsa entered the postseason with something to prove and a bit of a chip on his shoulder. It was during the Big 12 Tournament when his competitive edge came through and he was chasing the championship title. Over the course of three days and three games, he scored 93 points, breaking Kevin Durant’s Big 12 scoring record, and performed at a high level in front of several NBA executives. BYU ultimately lost to Houston in the quarterfinals but that three-game stretch solidified him as one of the top players in this draft class, along with Big 12 Freshman of the Year honors.
“I thought his game really matured over the season,” Young said. “The game slowed down for him. He figured out how to attack all different kinds of defensive coverages. He would survey how teams were guarding him, make the right read and just carve teams up and pick teams apart and that’s what he did in the Big 12 tournament.”
BYU lost in the first round to Texas and Dybantsa teased coming back to BYU for one more season and said the decision was ultimately up to his mom, Chelsea.
Looking back, with an eye on the NBA future
Both Ace and Chelsea were by his side on April 22 at the Davis School in Brockton where AJ attended Kindergarten through 8th grade. It’s a place he’s traveled back to numerous times for shoe giveaways with his sponsorship with Nike and back-to-school drives with backpacks and supplies with his foundation, The AJ Dybantsa Foundation.
“Education is very important to me and we’re helping raise money to send kids to schools and universities,” Dybantsa said. “My mom is from Jamaica and my dad is from the Congo so helping kids here in the states and over in the Congo.”
On this day it was all about him. In an assembly in his hometown, Dybantsa announced he was declaring for the NBA Draft but also finishing his degree online at BYU.
“My mom wanted me to stay in college to graduate,” Dybantsa said. “But I told my mother that I’m going to declare for the Draft and also finish and get my degree online. I’ll probably finish within the next four years.”
Dybantsa has been in Los Angeles preparing for the AWS NBA Draft Combine 2026 and working out while focusing on his body and nutrition.
“I’m just trying to keep my body right,” Dybantsa said. “I’m eating better, working on my conditioning and strength and just trying to get ready for the 82-game season.”
He went from 6-foot-8 and 204 pounds entering his freshman year at BYU to 6-foot-9, 220 leading into the combine. “I hope the combine doesn’t shrink me,” Dybantsa said while laughing. “No, but I do think I’m a solid 6-9 flat foot.”
When Dybantsa tried to get feedback from his father on his body transformation, he was hit with the hard reality of fatherly tough love. “He asked me, ‘Did I get bigger?’ And my answer was, ‘Not big enough to kick my ass,’” Ace said with a laugh.
This year’s draft class is considered one of the deepest, one-and-done draft classes in the last 10 years with Dybantsa, Kansas guard Darryn Peterson, Duke forward Cameron Boozer and North Carolina wing Caleb Wilson all projected at the top.
A life’s work will be realized
What separates Dybantsa is his positional size, defensive versatility and his verticality in the way he can rise above defenders.
“He’s just 19 years old doing what he’s doing right now … imagine him in the league at 25,” said one NBA scout. “His intangibles on both ends of the court are so impressive at his age and although he needs to improve on his 3-point shot, I’m willing to bet it comes around sooner rather than later.”
Dybantsa has already been in the gym with some of the top NBA talent like Kevin Durant, Devin Booker, Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown and Chris Paul and they checked in on him throughout the season.
Dybantsa recognizes that each player has been through the draft process and have had successful careers in a league he’s a few short months of entering as one of the top rookies coming in with a target on his back and he’s ready for the challenge.
“Everyone always says when you get up to the NBA, it’s a little different,” Dybantsa said. “The IQ level is different, the pace and physicality. But I can’t wait and it’s something I’ve worked my whole life for.”
